On earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus said to pray, Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Mat 6:10) Look around. Does this look like heaven on earth to you? Not to me either. That just means that we have more praying to do.

If we were living in the perfect world, where God was in charge and everyone was part of the kingdom, how would we live? There wouldn’t be anger, injustice, pain, loss, fear, disappointment. We would live in trust, love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness…. Sounds a lot like Galations 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. We would be living with the Spirit of God in charge  because we’d all have Him in us.

That’s what we’re supposed to have now. We’re supposed to pray on earth as it is in heaven–that God would manifest Himself in the world the way He does in heaven.

Look at your life and your circumstances. Does it look like heaven to you? Then pray that it would. Is there anger and strife? Then what would it look like in heaven? Peace, kindness, cooperation. Pray the opposite of what is happening. If you want heaven on earth, get specific and pray into it.

This is not pie in the sky. This a command. Jesus said to pray like this, not to pacify us into feeling better about our hopeless situation, but because of the power of that prayer. When we agree with what God wants to do, we release Him to do it. Jesus came to show us the way to live, then sent the Holy Spirit to help us. He put the world in our hands to manage the way He showed us. God isn’t going to interfere with what we’ve been given to do unless we ask Him to.

It is God’s will that His kingdom be released on earth as it is in heaven. He gave us the power and authority to do that by making us heirs with Christ. Our is the responsibility to effect the change. You have so much ability to release the kingdom everywhere you go. First you must be filled yourself. That comes with developing a relationship with God–spending quality time with Him everyday. The more you get filled, the more you have to give out.

Slowly but surely, we spread the kingdom by our own communion with God. That changes us. We begin to see things as He sees things so we know how to pray and act. On earth as it is in heaven is not a hard as you think.

Another post on living today: Learn To Live Like An Heir

Enter the kingdom as a little child.

I don’t want to grow old. I’m not talking about actual years. I’m talking about attitude. Many old people are fearful. They’re set in their ways. They only ever look back. On the positive side, they can have great wisdom. So if I could have the wisdom with the joy of youth, it would be the best of both worlds.

Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. (Mark 10:15) There is something special about the way God loves children. Maybe it’s their complete trust, their capacity to enjoy, or their wonder and curiosity. They believe what they are told, without the predisposition to doubt like adults have.

I want to hold on to childlike faith and joy and walk through the kingdom with the eyes of a little one, but also with the wisdom of the ages. I want to have fun, to sing and dance, and never fear because God is having fun with me. Imagine an entire kingdom of childlike faith.

That means there would be no egos or attitudes, only trust and laughter. Imagine sleeping the peace of a child at night. Put yourself in His hands and let your adult self be young again. It’s easier to get around in the kingdom that way.

Another post on childlike faith: Dancing On Daddy’s Feet

Today is a great day to be blessed.

Nothing you have done can change your ability to receive grace. That’s what grace is all about–being forgiven when you don’t deserve it. Never let your past prevent you from living in grace and forgiveness. Get your heart right with God and move on . Today is a new day.

Today has all the blessings and opportunities that you need. All you have to do is plug into them. How do you do that? You go to the source. You need to spend time with God everyday in reading His word, in prayer, and listening to Him. It’s a relationship you need to develop. God is amazing! He is everything you need.

Once you begin this wonderful walk with Him, you can begin to hear His voice. He’s got ideas to share. He’s got dreams to give and destiny to bless. Let the past go. Once you confess your sins, God doesn’t remember them, so you don’t have to either. Only the enemy will remember those things, so ignore him. Today is a new day. Today is a day of fresh starts and new beginnings.

Today is the day the Lord has made, and He made it for you. How awesome is that! Wait and see what He has in store. It gets even better tomorrow.

Another post on daily blessings: Morning Mercies And Tea

It’s time to let it go.

Unforgiveness is an absolute barrier to blessing. And you know what? It doesn’t matter if the person you refuse to forgive is even still alive. Their status is not what concerns God, it’s yours. As long as you refuse to forgive ANYONE, blessing cannot get to your heart. You’ve built a big old wall that keeps it out.

Holding onto unforgiveness is poison to your soul. Seriously. It’s like cancer. It will infect your thinking and your actions. It is not of God. Nowhere will you find Jesus ever teaching about it being ok to not forgive. What does He say? The opposite. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. (Mat 6:12) We are taught to forgive. And as many times as it takes. (Mat 18:22)

Ask God to show you right now if you have not forgiven someone you should have. Don’t mess around with this. That memory you just got? Deal with it. Tell God that you forgive that person. Ask the Lord to forgive you for not doing it sooner. Clean the slate. Good. Now it’s done. Ask God to help you be sensitive every time you need to forgive someone. You’ll be surprised when your realize that it’s every day. That’s ok. Just do it. And as you do, you’ll start to see the blessings from God start to come to you.

Another post on forgiveness: How To Forgive

God will bless your decisions, so go for it.

I don’t think we have to get God’s permission to do half of what we ask Him for. Some people will wait to hear from God before making any change in their life. Should you take the new job? Go on vacation? Join that organization? The assumption is that there is a right and wrong answer to everything. I don’t think there is.

Jesus didn’t teach us to check with God before doing anything. He gave us the guidelines–love God with all your heart, and love other people. He told us to be humble, caring, generous, and kind. He told us how to have a good character, not which job to take.

I believe that God wants us to use our best judgement. If we make a wrong choice, He will close a door. But we shouldn’t wait for Him to give a green light before we do anything. Assume that the light is always green until it turns red. No closed doors? Then, if it’s what you want, go for it.

God can bless anything you put your hand to. If your heart is right with Him, then your motives will be good, and that’s what matters. He will use anything that you give Him. Stop stressing about His will. His will is to bless what you do.

Another post on God’s will: Knowing God’s Will Is Easier Than You Think